Kildare's accessible housing stock growing steadily
Photo for illustrative purposes
Kildare County Council’s (KCC) efforts in improving the homes of its tenants with disabilities has increased five-fold in just the last 10 years.
It has been revealed that in 2014 there were just 14 adaptations carried out in the county under the Disabled Persons Grant (DPG) scheme, but that this number had risen to 68 last year.
This came to light following a motion from cllr Willie Durkan from Maynooth at the recent October meeting of the full council, where he wondered how much “of existing housing stock is suitable for tenants with mobility or accessibility issues, how this relates to those on the housing list that have documented concerns, and comment on suitable provision plans”.
In the formal reply, head of Kildare’s housing section Annette Aspell revealed that such figures were only available since 2014, but provided a table showing the steady growth in improvements since – Covid blips notwithstanding.
Works eligible under the DPG scheme include bathroom adaptations, stairlifts, ramps and the provision of extensions for ground floor living.
“The National Housing Strategy for Disabled People 2022-2027 sets out the framework for the delivery of housing for people with a disability through mainstream housing policy,” she said.
“An action of this strategy required the establishment of Housing Disability Steering Groups and membership in Kildare has senior housing staff, senior staff from the HSE, representatives from local disability advocacy groups and people with lived experience.
“This identifies actions to ensure all KCC new-build housing is in compliance with Part M of the Building Regulations, that 10 per cent of it meets the needs of those with a disability, that 12 per cent of KCC new-builds are universally designed thus, and also to monitor the number of housing acquisitions and new-builds to ensure they meet the needs of those with a disability”.
In Co Kildare there are currently 3,450 people assessed as needing social housing support – this figure excludes those in receipt of HAP or RAS. Of that number, currently 342 applicants have been assessed based of disability needs, while applications from individuals residing in congregated settings have been discounted from the 342 as they are accounted for separately.
